Man arrested for deadly hit and run ten years ago

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - More than a decade after a deadly hit and run, the man who Gwinnett County police say was behind the wheel has been arrested. December 20, 2006 Jacob Paoletta and a friend were riding a bike home from work on Buford Drive when a car plowed into them. Jacob died. He was just 17 years old.

Police say the car was ditched a mile away and the driver vanished in the night. Jacob's father, Joe, always had a glimmer of hope the driver would be found. “I try not to give up hope but I had to be at peace with it because I couldn't let it eat me away,” says Joe Paoletta.

Monday, Joe Paoletta finally got the call he has been waiting for ten long years. The Gwinnett County District Attorney's office confirmed police in another state pulled over Edgar Pena-Fernandez on a traffic violation. Authorities say he's the man wanted for the hit and run.

Ross Paoletta says his twin brother, Jacob, is still a very big part of his heart, and now that an arrest has finally been made, he wants to see justice done. “We're not talking about a guy who’s asking for forgiveness and turned himself in and did the right thing, we're talking about a guy who got pulled over for a traffic violation and now he has to answer to the courts,” says Ross.

Pena-Fernandez is in the Gwinnett County jail charged with hit and run and failure to render aid. Jacob's family wants to see him charged with vehicular homicide. The Assistant District Attorney handling the case said he couldn't comment on the charges because the case is ongoing.